Senior Mechanical Engineer -– Advanced Thermo-Mechanical

Eridu is a Silicon Valley-based hardware startup pioneering infrastructure solutions that accelerate AI data centers to deliver Faster AI. Today’s AI performance is frequently limited by communication bottlenecks. Eridu introduces multiple industry-first innovations across silicon, packaging, software, and systems to deliver an order of magnitude improvement in performance and unlock greater GPU utilization to speed training job completion times and tokens-per-second for more profitable inference. We do this while simultaneously reducing capital and power costs and improving reliability.

The company’s solutions and value proposition have been widely validated by leading hyperscalers.

Eridu has raised over $200M to date including its most recent, oversubscribed Series A round. The company is led by a veteran team of Silicon Valley executives who have delivered multiple billion dollar product lines and led multiple companies to billion dollar exits, including serial entrepreneur Drew Perkins, co-founder of Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN), Lightera (acq. by Ciena), Gainspeed (acq. by Nokia) and Mojo Vision (the world’s leading micro-LED company). The company is in execution mode and has a world-class engineering team with decades of experience in state-of-the-art silicon, packaging, optics, software, and systems. Eridu is working with best-in-class supply chain partners including silicon, packaging and systems.

Visit our website eridu.ai to learn more.

Position Overview

Eridu is seeking a highly technical Mechanical Engineer with deep expertise in multiphysics modeling, thermo-mechanical behavior, and advanced packaging architecture.
This is not a conventional mechanical design position. You will serve as the physics authority responsible for developing predictive first-principles models, conducting nonlinear multiphysics simulations, and experimentally validating complex thermo-mechanical systems across their full life cycle.
You will lead the mechanical design for advanced semiconductor and system-level packaging operating at extreme power density and structural constraints. This includes sustained compression environments, thermal expansion mismatch, contact mechanics, and long-term material behavior under load.
This role requires intellectual rigor, experimental ownership, and the ability to translate physics into robust, manufacturable hardware.

·       Develop first-principles analytical models (hand calculations and reduced-order models) to predict thermo-mechanical behavior of complex mechanical stacks.

·       Own nonlinear FEA simulations involving contact mechanics, plasticity, creep, stress relaxation, and thermal-mechanical coupling.

·       Analyze and optimize mechanical stack-ups under sustained compression and thermal cycling.

·       Evaluate material behavior under long-term stress, including fatigue, creep, and reliability degradation.

·       Define mechanical architecture trade-offs balancing structural integrity, thermal performance, and manufacturability.

·       Drive predictive modeling to anticipate failure modes before physical hardware validation.

·       Design and execute thermo-mechanical experiments to validate analytical and simulation models.

·       Develop instrumentation strategies (strain gauges, thermocouples, displacement sensors, load cells, displacement measurement systems, etc.) for high-fidelity measurements.

·       Characterize material behavior under compression, thermal cycling, creep, and fatigue conditions.

·       Correlate experimental data with nonlinear FEA simulations and calibrate models for predictive accuracy.

·       Define accelerated life testing methodologies to assess long-term mechanical and thermo-mechanical reliability.

·       Establish validation frameworks spanning prototype through high-volume production.

·       Drive data-based decision making across the entire product life cycle.

·       Lead thermo-mechanical design of advanced semiconductor packaging (2.5D, 3D, SMT, substrate-level integration).

·       Investigate and develop novel packaging approaches and mechanical compression architectures.

·       Evaluate CTE mismatch, interfacial stress distributions, and structural stability in high-density electronic assemblies.

·       Collaborate with silicon, electrical, thermal, and system teams to ensure mechanical-electrical-thermal compatibility.

·       Assess interactions between mechanical loading, electrical integrity, and thermal performance in integrated systems.

·       Knowledge of electromechanical systems, including electrical contact integrity under mechanical loading, is highly desirable.

·       Select and characterize materials based on mechanical, thermal, and long-term reliability behavior.

·       Model elastic and plastic deformation behavior in metals, polymers, and composite materials.

·       Lead DFMEA activities for high-risk mechanical and packaging assemblies.

·       Drive structured root cause investigations for reliability or yield issues using physics-based reasoning.

·       Incorporate statistical variation and tolerance modeling into predictive mechanical analysis.

·       Partner with internal and external teams (ODMs, OSATs, contract manufacturers) to ensure robust implementation of advanced packaging solutions.

·       Clearly communicate modeling assumptions, limitations, validation strategies, and risk areas.

·       Influence system architecture decisions through physics-driven insight.

·       Contribute to documentation including technical reports, design specifications, validation plans, and risk assessments.

·       Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, or related discipline.

·       10+ years of experience in advanced packaging, semiconductor mechanical design, power electronics, or high-density electronic systems.

·       Strong foundation in mechanics of materials, contact mechanics, heat transfer, elastic and plastic material modeling, and thermo-mechanical coupling.

·       Demonstrated expertise in first-principles modeling and nonlinear FEA (ANSYS, Abaqus, COMSOL, or equivalent).

·       Experience designing and executing thermo-mechanical validation experiments.

·       Strong understanding of mechanical reliability under thermal cycling and sustained loading conditions.

·       Ability to connect analytical models, simulation results, and physical test data into predictive engineering decisions.

·       Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to clearly articulate complex technical concepts.

·       Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, or related field.

·       15+ years of experience in semiconductor packaging, high-performance compute systems, or power electronics.

·       Experience with compression-based mechanical architectures or high-pressure interface systems.

·       Experience with advanced thermal solutions including cold plates, manifolds, and liquid cooling.

·       Familiarity with statistical modeling and variation analysis tools (JMP or equivalent).

·       Experience collaborating with ODMs, OSATs, and contract manufacturers to define robust manufacturing processes.

·       Proficiency in 3D CAD tools (SolidWorks, Creo, or similar) for concept development and tolerance stack-up modeling.

·       Thinks in equations before CAD.

·       Builds predictive models grounded in physics.

·       Validates simulations with disciplined experimentation.

·       Understands material behavior beyond datasheets.

·       Anticipates failure modes before hardware fails.

·       Thrives in technically ambiguous, first-of-its-kind environments.

At Eridu, you’ll have the opportunity to shape the future of AI infrastructure, working with a world-class team on groundbreaking technology that pushes the boundaries of AI performance. Your contributions will directly impact the next generation of AI infrastructure solutions, transforming the performance of AI data centers. 

The starting base salary for the selected candidate will be established based on their relevant skills, experience, qualifications, work location, market trends, and the compensation of employees in comparable roles. 

Notice to Recruiting Agencies

Eridu does not accept unsolicited resumes or candidate profiles from staffing agencies or third-party recruiters. Any candidate submitted to Eridu without prior written authorization from our recruiting team will be considered unsolicited and will become the property of Eridu. Eridu reserves the right to pursue and hire such candidates without any obligation to pay fees.

Recruiting agencies are expressly instructed not to contact hiring managers, employees, or executives regarding open positions.